A Hip-hop Romance at MKE Black Theatre Festival

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Photo by Jenny Plevin

The Realness at the MKE Black Theatre Festival

The Realness at the MKE Black Theatre Festival

Playwright Idris Goodwin dives into a coming-of-age romance entrenched in the hip-hop scene of the mid-1990s with The Realness. The MKE Black Theatre Festival presents a well-executed, tightly woven production of the drama. Director Denzel Taylor brings together a remarkably well-articulated cast for the show. Joseph Brown is deeply engaging as T.O.—a rich kid from the suburbs who had come to the city to get lost in the hip-hop scene. He’s trying to carve out an understanding of his passions by exploring what it might mean to be a hip-hop journalist. For the most part, though, he’s really just chasing a woman.  Cambryelle Getter shows formidable passion and power as Prima—the hip-hop artist he quickly falls in love with and pursues through fragmented longings and well-meaning half-truths. 

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Photo by Jenny Plevin

The Realness at the MKE Black Theatre Festival

The Realness at the MKE Black Theatre Festival

The romance is given context with a capable supporting cast. Nahjee Robinson strikes a monolithic presence as a traditional rap artist reaching for success on the stage and in the studio. Dos Feurtado develops a textured portrayal of a man who suffers a serious speech impediment who ascends to stylish eloquence when performing his writing. 

Goodwin’s nuanced script dives deeply into the psychology of one man in the midst of history. As the play opens, the school year is beginning, and Tupac Shakur is killed. As the play ends, the school year is coming to a close and Notorious B.I.G. is killed. Somewhere in the midst of it all, there’s a tremendous search for meaning and passion in a world that seems to be lost between money, survival and the endless search for what matters the most.

The MKE Black Theatre Festival’s production of The Realness continues through Aug. 25 at the Marcus Performing Arts Center, 121 E. State St. For more information visit blackartsmke.org/mke-black-theater/mke-black-theatre-festival.